Trump attorney says presidents can’t be prosecuted for selling pardons or ordering murders

Mr Trump’s lawyer made the chilling argument before a three-judge panel of the US Court Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday

Former president Donald Trump’s lawyer told a three-judge panel of the US Court Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that a president would be immune from prosecution unless impeached and convicted, even if he was accused of having ordered a rival’s murder by the US military.

During arguments in a Washington DC courtroom on Tuesday, Trump attorney D John Sauer told Judges Michelle Childs, Florence Pan and Karen Henderson that Mr Trump is immune from prosecution under the impeachment and double jeopardy clauses of the US Constitution, citing the Senate’s 2021 acquittal of the ex-president on charges that he incited the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Judge Florence Pan, a 2022 appointee to the circuit court by President Joe Biden, almost immediately began a rapid-fire questioning of Trump attorney D John Sauer over his contention.

She asked Mr Sauer if, hypothetically, a president could order the killing of a rival by the US military or sell pardons and be immune from any legal consequences.

“I understand your position to be that a president is immune from criminal prosecution for any official act that he takes as president even if that action is taken for an unlawful or unconstitutional purpose, is that correct?” she said.

He replied that prosecution would only be allowed following a conviction by the Senate.

She interjected to repeat the query after Mr Sauer’s filibustering answer: “I asked you a yes or no question. Could a president who ordered SEAL Team 6 to assassinate a political rival ... would he be subject to criminal prosecution?”

He replied: “Qualified yes – if he is impeached and convicted first.”

He later added that in his view, such a president would “have to be, and would speedily be, you know, impeached and convicted before the criminal prosecution”.

James Pearce, the Assistant Special Counsel who argued the case for the US government, said Mr Sauer’s comments portended “an extraordinarily frightening future” because his view would place presidents largely outside and above the law.